A Whiter Shade of Pale

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"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Single by Procol Harum
from the album Procol Harum
B-side "Lime Street Blues"
Released 12 May 1967
Format 7"
Recorded Olympic Studios
Genre Psychedelic rock
Progressive rock
Length 4:03
Label Deram Records
Writer(s) Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher
Producer Denny Cordell
Procol Harum singles chronology
- "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
(1967)		 "Homburg"
(1967)

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the British band Procol Harum. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart[1] on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks.

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

Contents

[edit] Song profile

With its haunting tonality and Bach flavouring (both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher), vocals by Gary Brooker, and unusual lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. Reid told Songfacts that he got the idea for the title when it came to him at a party, which gave him a starting point for the song. [2]

In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. In 2004, the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited named it the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.[3] More than 900 recorded cover versions by other artists are known.[4] The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze and The Boat That Rocked.

A cover of the song by King Curtis was used in the film Withnail and I.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 20 December 2006, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit in a court case, which was upheld by the Appeals Court on 4 April 2008 appeals decision. [1]. However, Fisher's songwriter royalties remain under dispute. [5] See Authorship Lawsuit below.

[edit] Recording and personnel

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios, with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass, and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were provided by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior, and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.[6]

[edit] Chart performance and acclaim

The single was released on 12 May 1967 (UK, Deram Records). It entered the UK charts on 25 May 1967. In two weeks, it had reached number one, where it stayed for six weeks. All in all, it stayed 15 weeks on the UK chart. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies.

Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (Germany) , # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100)

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim.

[edit] Influence on common parlance

The phrase a whiter shade of pale by Keith Reid has gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.[9] [10] [11]. As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. (See [12] for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavvily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y - this to the extent that it has been officially recognized[13] [14] as a snowclone - a type of cliché and phrasal template.

[edit] Resemblance to the work of J.S. Bach

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers Awake" and "Air on a G String", but contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach[15], although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referenced in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments.

[edit] Authorship lawsuit

In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.[16] Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.[17] Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was had before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in The Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship [2] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.[18] On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision in the House of Lords.[19]. Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song. [20] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22nd - 23rd April 2009 [21].

Preceded by
"Silence is Golden" by The Tremeloes		 UK Singles Chart number one single
8 June 1967 - 18 July 1967 (six weeks)		 Succeeded by
"All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles
Preceded by
"Black Velvet Band" by Johnny McEvoy		 Ireland 1967 number one single
22 June 1967 - 19 July 1967 (five weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Black Velvet Band" by Johnny McEvoy
Preceded by
"This is My Song" by Petula Clark		 Australia 1967 number one single
8 July 1967 - 28 July 1967 (three weeks)		 Succeeded by
"All You Need is Love / Baby, You're a Rich Man" by The Beatles

[edit] References

  1. ^ "EveryHit.com". everyHit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved on 2008-11-25. 
  2. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1131. Retrieved on 2009-05-40. 
  3. ^ "Procol Harum Shades Rivals in UK Survey". http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_ppl_2004.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. 
  4. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale Versions - Martin's Collection". http://www.awsop-versions.com/. Retrieved on 2009-06-02. 
  5. ^ Rock Star Brooker Shades Royalty Battle Sky News, 4 April 2008
  6. ^ "Procol Harum Beyond The Pale" by Claes Johansen. Pages 68 and 86, SAF Publishing, London, 2000.
  7. ^ "Whiter Shade 'most played' song". BBC News. 13 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7996979.stm. Retrieved on 2009-04-13. 
  8. ^ "THE 100 GREATEST No.1 SINGLES". http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/singles/results.html. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. 
  9. ^ Knowles, Elizabeth (editor), ed (2007). "Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations". Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199208951. 
  10. ^ Knowles, Elizabeth (editor), ed (2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations". The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198607205. 
  11. ^ Ratcliffe, Susan, ed (2006). "Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation". Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192806505. 
  12. ^ "'A Whiter shade of pale' in common parlance". http://procolharum.com/99/awsop_parlance.htm. Retrieved on 2009-06-23. 
  13. ^ "The Snowclones Database". http://snowclones.org/. Retrieved on 2009-06-29. 
  14. ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K; Liberman, Mark (2006), Far from the Madding Gerund and Other Dispatches from the Language Log, William, James & Company, ISBN 978-1590280553 
  15. ^ "What Bach Piece is A Whiter Shade of Pale?". Archived from the original on 2001-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20010616151342/www.bachfaq.org/whiter.html. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. 
  16. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale authorship lawsuit". http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_lawsuit2.htm. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. 
  17. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Organist wins Procol Harum battle
  18. ^ BBC - Procol Harum ruling is overturned
  19. ^ BBC News, November 6, 2008, Lords House to hear Procol battle; www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8012303.stm
  21. ^ Bowcott, Owen (2009-04-22). "A Whiter Shade of Pale: House of Lords asked to rule in copyright wrangle" (in english). Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/22/law-popandrock. Retrieved on 2009-06-29. 
v • d • e
Procol Harum
Gary Brooker · Geoff Dunn · Matt Pegg · Josh Phillips · Geoff Whitehorn · Keith Reid
Dave Ball · Graham Broad · Dave Bronze · Mark Brzezicki · Alan Cartwright · Chris Copping · Matthew Fisher · Mick Grabham · Bobby Harrison · David Knights · Dee Murray · Tim Renwick · Ray Royer · Don Snow · Pete Solley · Henry Spinetti · Jerry Stevenson · Robin Trower · Ian Wallace · B.J. Wilson
Guy Stevens · Bill Eyden · Tim Renwick
Discography
Studio Albums
Live albums
Other albums
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Whiter_Shade_of_Pale"
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